Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1887-01-03
ITALIAN CoURTsHIP.
Under the Most Difficult Circumstances
Love VIII Find "a Way.


ing a livelihood, the girls must of course
be allowed 10 go abroad at times, and
the rich have their balls and the opera
where the young of both sexes may
meet But the seclusion in which the
young ladies of the middle class are
kept is almost complete. They are al
lowed to sit on the balcony and TO 90 to
church in the company of duenna,
three or four times wear they are
taken out for drive, and this is almost
the only contact with the outside world
that is permitted them. Nor is it easy
for them to attain by stealth the forbid
den freedom. When the parents go
out they either set an old woman TO
look after them. or secre.e their hats
and boots and then lock them safely in.
Jealous husbands treat their wives in
the same. way, though this is considered
reprehensible after the first few years of
wedlock. In word. everything is done
to exclude both temptation and ro-
nance.
In the larger towns the influence of
foreign manners and the presence of
Northern visitors are beginning to make
themselves felt In Florence the young
ladies enjoy liberty which would have
seemed outrageous license to their
grandmoihers, and even in Naples
parental rigor is slowly relaxing. 1t is
in Sicily and the less frequented parts
of Southern Italy that The old system is
still in full force, though, strangely
enough even there there are single towns
and districts in which from time inn
ial hn 60
freer. TO these we do not refer. nor to
such marriages as are simply arranged
by the parents of the young people for
worldly reasons. The number OF the
latter is smaller in Italy than is usually
supposed.
Under the.most difficult circumstances
love, as the old song says. will find a
way, and here, too, he steals into the
maiden's chamber. however carefully
it may be guarded. One right she
| possesses which IS sometimes denied to
| young wiyes-the perfect freedom of the
balcony. There she may sit whenever
shadow falls upon it, or the GOODNESS of
the evening has come, and the youths
who pass along the street cast eager
glances upwards TO catch glimpse of
the pretty faces above. Then, as we
have seen, she may 90 to church under
proper guardianship, and it is extraordi-
nary what love for religious exercises
some young women will display at this
period of life This is all or nearly all
she can do, but 1t is enough.
1t seems that most Italians of this
class fall in love at first sight, or at least
by sight alone. Sudden passions like
that of Romeo and Juliet are the rule
rather than the exception in the South,
though they rarely have so tragical an
ending. A young man catches a
| glimpse of girl. and at once resolves
| to make her his wife; if it is at church,
he follows her home; if on 4 balcony,
he notes the house, and begins to haunt
the street. If he is acceptable, perhaps
one day a flower will fall at his feet
though the girl knows that such en-
enlargement is unmaidenly. A lover
| with good voice and ear has an i'm
mense advantage. He sings snatches of
love songs as he walks below, and if Il
voice above taxes up the last note and
| gradually passes TO another song. he
NAV take heart Whatever difficulties
he may still have to encounter, an
aversion on the part of the object Of his
affections will not be one of them.
Very pretty flirtations are carried on in
this way, the young lady at times mock
ing and teasing her admirer with frag-
ments of satirical verse, and at times
falling into something very like senti-
ment. but they are more frequent after
than before the betroIhai.
Even the most favored lover has, in
the meantime. been seeking for some
means of establishing more direct
intercourse with the object of his choice.
he has made inquiries of the neighbors
as to the character of the family and its
intimates, and endeavors 10 obtain an
Introduction to one of the elderly ladies
who frequent the house To her he ex-
plains his wishes and his position in
life, and he then bees her to plead his
cause. If he is an eligible sutton. she is
almost certain to consent. as the mis-
sion is an interesting one. and the
position is considered highly honorable.
She knows nothing of any signs of favor
the lover may have received, so her
first visit is TO the young lady, who
feigns shyness and reluctance which
it sometimes takes weeks to overcome.
At least the envoy is supposed TO net
thus; in fact, there is generally a per-
feet understanding between her and the
parents, though they pretend to know
nothing of what is going on. After the
maiden has given what she considers =
sufficient proof of her modesty. she
yields. The father is then consulted,
the principal conditions Of the marriage
contract are discussed, and the betrothal
takes place.